First of all, relatable themes are weaved throughout this entire movie. A huge theme in this film is hope. This caught my eye from the beginning, hope glimmers throughout the entirety of this film. From start to finish, everyone in the film has hope for something, whether it’s a plane to America or the connection that they once had with an old lover. A perfect example of hope is through the main character, Rick Blaine. Or Richard, which is what his past lover, Ilsa, called him before she ran away from him and left him at a train station waiting for her arrival. Rick throughout the years he had to go through without Ilsa hoped for her return so he could ask her questions: Why did she leave him? Was there another man? What even happened? Maybe Rick was just hoping that Ilsa was hoping to see him as well. And maybe, just maybe, he hoped that she loved him back, even with what she did to him. Another theme is love, not just between Ilsa and Rick, but also between Ilsa and Victor Laszlo and Sam and Rick. These are all important connections because they illustrate love in different ways: a romantic way and a “just friends” way. Besides the obvious love between Rick and Ilsa and Ilsa with Victor, Rick and Sam do love each other. Not only have they known each other for a long time shown in the flashback, but Sam seems to know basically everything about Rick. If not everything, then he knows what is best for him and he truly cares about Rick. They have grown to not only have a boss-employee relationship, but also a solid friendship. Hope and love are two relatable themes because they’re common among most people. Most people, if not all people, have hope for something whether it’s hope for a bright future or hope for a good grade on a math test. Also, everyone probably loves someone whether it’s a family member, best friend, or partner. These common themes make the movie easy for the audience to relate to.
The themes of love and hope leads to number two of why this is one of the best films of all time, the surprise ending. By the end of the movie, Rick and Ilsa do "magically" run into each other in Casablanca. Of course. After explaining herself, they both dug up the past feelings that they had and confessed that they never stopped loving each other. So, like any “classic movie”, you’d think that this would be the end, right? Ilsa breaks things off with Laszlo so she can be with her number one love, Rick? That’s what I thought too, but I was mistaken. Rick sacrifices his happiness and true love and boards Laszlo and Ilsa on a plane to America. This was a shock factor and made the movie have a complete surprise ending which will make it go down further in history.
I completely agree that hope is such a huge underlying theme throughout the whole film, and because of this relatable message, Casablanca has remained such a classic and popular title. I also really like the image that you linked into this. I find it really interesting with the three different frames.
ReplyDeleteI want to start off by saying that the points made in this post are identical to what I feel about the movie. I expected this movie to end in a very ordinary way, and didn't actually understand how it differed from any other "love movie" made in the 1940's until the very end. I feel that what made it a classic was the unexpected turn of events in the end of the movie, and I think that your analysis exactly pinpointed what made this movie so unique. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI never really focused on the themes as I was watching the film, so I appreciate this post for opening my eyes a little bit to hope and love holding the plot together. The way you talked about Sam and Rick's relationship as almost like a brotherhood was very insightful and while I realized that they were once very close, I never would have made the connection that there was a deeper meaning to it. A brotherhood implies that there is some sort of love in that relationship, so the fact that you brought that into the light was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHope, and definitely love are such constants in this film. I did notice the themes themselves but I think you described them and their effects on the story, and the characters very well. Your excellent point about how these elements make the characters relatable is, to me at least, such a driving force behind why this film is such a classic. The audience feels sorry for and admires Rick, hates and loves Ilsa, understands and connects with the friendship Rick and Sam share, and on. Every person can connect with a different group of characters for different reasons than someone else, and that individual connection is what I really appreciate about this movie, and I'm really glad you brought that to the surface.
ReplyDeleteI was very surprised at the ending, because I believed that Rick and Ilsa would run away together and live happily ever after. But that's not what happened. Maybe the reason why this movie has become such a classic, is because it's not like the other movies of its time. Instead of the tough, leading man, winning over the girl after an epic fight against her husband, Rick send Ilsa with Laszlo, not following his original plan. This is a huge change in the plot, and Rick's character. The best part is that you never know what happens next in the movie! Renault and Rick walk into the fog and are never seen again.
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